Good call. It's a very interesting glimpse into his life right now. It also gives some context to his Vagabond announcement, considering he just finished an exhaustive amount of work, so I don't think it's a coincidence he's writing that now. Another funny thing is how he's almost touring with this Vagabond material like a musician would on an album, and he's planning on moving on from this material altogether once the tour is over... except he's an visual artist/author, not a musician. I'm trying to think of a parallel example of something like this.

Vagabond Vol. 33 has come out. Thank you for all the thoughts andfeedback I've recevied. They are the fuel that will keep me moving forward.

I really like the layout for the cover this time... Well, I always likeit, but especially this time. Thank you, T-shima-san and thesedays-san.

Some readers of the serialization in Morning may have noticed, but therewere a lot of edits this time. Actually, that's been the case in everyrecent volume. That means that my mind and body aren't keeping up withthe weekly pace. It can't be helped. We'll just have to live with it andmove forward.

Well! Last time I wrote about the end of the Osaka Managa Exhibition, butsome time has passed (hey!) since then and now "The Last Chapter - Sendai"has only a little time left. Time flies...

Of course I've been to Sendai several times, and I've watched the seasonchange beautifully (this is really the best season), and it's become acity that I really like.

And, this was true with Osaka as well, but I haven't really had the chanceto take the shinkansen much before so I never realized how much I wouldenjoy the time spent eating a bento while riding it. Even when I'm notthat hungry I'll buy a bento and eat it. I haven't had cow tongue inSendai, but I've had cow tongue bento on the shinkansen! Bento andshinkansen are now forever linked for me.

The "Manga Exhibition" has only a few more days before it ends. But it'sbeen 2 years since we started it in Ueno... I was able to tryexpressing some things in a third dimension, by taking another dimensionand breaking from 2-D where I've done various things with manga. I'llprobably talk about what I've learned and seen through this experiencesome day. I don't feel like expressing any conclusions right now.

I've certainly expanded my horizons. I'm sure this will be the seed ofsomething else to come. And there will probably be something that itreplaces and that I will stop doing.

6/13 is the day it all ends. At the Sendai Mediatheque. If you're interested, please hurry.

I ran 2.5 km this morning. I wonder how many years it's been... I should run tomorrow too. INOUE TAKEHIKO2 June 2010

Quote

Mori no Miyako.

There's only 3 more days left for the "Last Manga Exhibition - SendaiChapter". Only a little more time left for the manga exhibit overall.

Those of you who came on the final day in Ueno, Kumamoto and Osaka alreadyknow, but on the last day of those exhibits a new piece was added.

I always feel like I should show my gratitude in some way for the peoplewho come, and the staff who are working so hard. And the new piece is away of saying "Thank you".

Sendai is the last Manga Exhibition, so the new pieces for each of theprevious locations will be shown starting about today -- a little beforethe last day.

It's the middle of the NBA Finals. I'm looking for the Lakers to go 4-2!Muahaha.

Both great updates, thanks Eluvei. The first one sure is cryptic at the end concerning what Inoue will start and stop doing in the future. Also, not happy to hear about those additions to the Last Manga exhibit, admittedly for selfish reasons since my expensive art book is now technically obsolete.

Also glad he was following the Lakers. I wonder if he sees any thematic parallels between what happened on the court and Vagabond?

It's like Yagyu passing the torch to Musashi... MJ is Ittosai of course.

The first one sure is cryptic at the end concerning what Inoue will start and stop doing in the future.

Yeah. Let's just hope he makes another episode soon, so we can see the direction he'll take Vagabond now. It was supposed to be back in May and there was no mention of a bigger break or anything. I admit I'm not as comfortable with this as I am with Miura's breaks, since God knows what Inoue's gonna do next.

Also, not happy to hear about those additions to the Last Manga exhibit, admittedly for selfish reasons since my expensive art book is now technically obsolete.

I don't think they were significant additions, though. Looks to me like they were more like extras, since they were all different at each exhibit. The only difference is he decided to show all these extras at once in Sendai since it's the last time the exhibit's gonna happen anytime soon (I still hope we'll get to see it once Vagabond becomes an all-time classic ).

And all the other changes between one exhibit and the other were most likely slight adjustments so it could blend in the different environments. That's what it looked like when we followed that blog he made.

Sorry for the inconvenience to worry Temashi.So much wrong body, has received a dock dock brain and heart.

Test results are not unusual! Was.Some symptoms for some time, which lead to serious illness know that no relief was relieved. The people who visit your messages and encouragement, we are grateful.Thank you.I thank my parents gave birth to a strong body.Thanks to his wife has helped in terms of careful diet.Erakatta sometimes I have moved the body to reduce drinking.

But this is just a test, I was not able to treat the symptoms of this "real" writing is still to have symptoms. The state could do so, "Vagabond" had been scheduled minutes of posting, and received a one week rest. Thank you.

By this time, one is now felt that there are at a crossroads.If you still continue this work will slow down some of the work, the stress (if any) good to escape and sleep properly. Balance of body, mind and balance.

More aware and not be such a regular basis, continue to speak out like this is not a natural thought. I quite understand, but I was vaguely unpleasant.

I want to do anything yourself, what do want to be.Ask yourself one more case and proper.My way to anyone about to say something. Chose his own road.

Itadakimashita I think the opportunity to do that again.Thanks to health problems.

One New Year's plans to now, "Vagabond in the year to complete," that is carried over to next year and I decided in August!

Well and good, my way also.

This week, Kumamoto, spent surrounded by natural beauty in Kagoshima has excellent talent to feed. We wanted to feel what I got.

Haha, he's like Yagyu playing go, he's going to continue his one year plan... by starting over!

Anyway, I'm happy about the former and incredulous about the latter, and I think the solution to both issues is an extended break. I actually really dislike the one year plan and that whole mentality; I wish he would just admit it didn't work, say it'll be done when it's done, and drop it. Just the thought of the material being rushed, condensed, or otherwise adversely affected because of some arbitrary deadline he's placed on himself is maddening.

I actually really dislike the one year plan and that whole mentality, I wish he would just admit it didn't work, say it'll be done when it's done, and drop it. Just the thought of the material being rushed, condensed, or otherwise adversely affected because of some arbitrary deadline is maddening.

I've never seen so many dead cicadas as I have this Summer. One day atthe end of August, I went to the park and their bodes littered the groundlike somebody had just taken a bucket and thrown them everywhere. I sawthat as some type of metaphor. I've probably been clinging to it up untilnow, but this is the end of some of my beliefs. I'm going to erase theloud voice, and instead turn my ears toward my inner voice which I'veprobably forgotten to listen to.

I'm grateful to the lives of the cicadas who provided me with a chance tothink things over. I guess every instant has the possibility of spurringsuch a change.

Well...

My original intent was to have Vagabond start in Morning again with the9/2 issue. I even announced it here. But I had issues with my healthafter that.

After consulting with our editors, I think I'm going to first get healthyso I can start working again at full strength. At this time, on top ofhealing my body, I want to take the chance to calmly and peacefullypersonally focus on the story, which is coming to an end. Even though theamount of time without a new chapter coming out will become longer in theforeseeable future, I would be happy if you could take this in stride andask that you not be surprised by all of this.

As for Real, Vol. 10 is slated to come out this November. At the veryleast, I want to be able to keep my planned pace of publishing 1 new booka year. But I can't push myself, so things are going very slowly.However the preparations are moving forward.

I wasn't expecting him to be back any time soon, but to make an official announcement like this... wow. I'm reminded again of Matahachi's words in volume 33, "Didn't expect to be this popular. Maybe I should run away. From here on... the tale's not so pleasant to tell."

I think the solution to both issues is an extended break. I actually really dislike the one year plan and that whole mentality; I wish he would just admit it didn't work, say it'll be done when it's done, and drop it. Just the thought of the material being rushed, condensed, or otherwise adversely affected because of some arbitrary deadline he's placed on himself is maddening.

Anyway, if he doesn't feel like writing Vagabond, he shouldn't until he does again. In a way, I'm actually kind of relieved. Instead of seeing this as Vagabond being over for now, it's more like Inoue's given himself, and the series, an indefinite extension.

He's been unhappy with being a mangaka for more than a year now, and has expressed a wish to make something unrelated to this medium, so I won't be surprised if Vagabond has come to an end. That's probably what inspired him to make the exhibition: it's both something that isn't a manga and, at the same time, the end of Vagabond.

Nah, he'll be back. I don't think Vagabond is over at all. It's just an indefinite break until he finds his motivation again.

I agree with Griffith. I think this is a lot better than Inoue limiting himself to just under a year to finish Vagabond. This way he'll find his motivation again and finish the series with the ending it deserves.

I'm actually not too worried about this. To put it in terms Inoue would understand, I'm taking his possible retirement announcement about as seriously as Allen Iverson's. It's also hard for me to believe anyone is pressuring Inoue more than himself; at this stage of his career, whatever his contract, he can probably do what he wants (he already took a year off from Vagabond to recharge once), and most of this pressure on him probably comes from within. I don't think anyone that self-motivated is just going to stop either, for a while a maybe, but Inoue's work almost seems like a compulsion. In a sick selfish way, I'm kind of looking forward to how he will channel these feelings into Vagabond going forward (as he's already been doing). Best case scenario, his work becomes that much more personal, unpredictable, and inspired... worst case, he detaches himself and just starts grinding it out. I don't think that could happen though, even if he tried.

I'm just glad it wasn't the worst case scenario, and I'm happy I used that sports analogy, because I honestly think it's the same thing. When you're the best at something, it's hard to retire, and even harder to stay retired. Like Wally said, he'll be back. New worst case scenario... Vagabond: 20 Years Later.

Again, not even really surprised, as Eluvei pointed out, Inoue has been vocally unhappy for a while now, and specifically concerning Vagabond. Speaking of which, this text from the back of Last Manga stands out to me:

"I thought "The LAST Manga Exhibition" could become an opportunity for me, to turn the "Musashi" I depicted and his lifetime of killing dozens of people into a positive, despite everything.

What I'm trying to say is--

The people that read "Vagabond" all along.The people that accepted my many twists and turns duringthese 10 years, and kept following me.I really, really wanted to make them feel good."I'm glad I kept reading." --I absolutely wanted to make them feel that way.

Drawing "shadows" to draw "light."Conflicts and killing people are "shadows."I thought I had to draw that side, or I wouldn't be able to seethe "light."I thought that was what I was proceeding towards.

However, even if it was something along the path to mydestination, the pictures that depict killing people, althoughpictures, also had the power to unconciously hurt people'shearts.Unseen thorns were left remaining in the reader and theartist.When I discovered a part of myself that felt, I don't want toshow these to people that still have God-like, bare open souls, like young children, I felt this was a certainty.

I'm glad I was able to draw this story at this time.No, it had to be this time, and it had to be a "Manga drawnin space, experienced with one's entire body," or it really wouldn't have been possible to get across.

I now truly feel that I finally had an opportunity to depict"light" itself.When I think so, it all wasn't a mistake. It turned into the exact form I was proceeding to.

Even when I depict sorrow, it is no longer sorrow without a destination.

July 2008Inoue Takehiko"

It's like he's not just tired of being a mangaka in general, but specifically because of the toll Vagabond is taking on him. I've been wrong before though, here was my fan-tastic take at the time:

Wow, Musashi's journey has been Inoue's and vice versa far beyond just the relationship between author and character. I'm taking it altogether, I can't really see any other way, and what's interesting is how all this co-exists; Vagabond as it continues now is both taking place before and yet spiritually beyond "the end" Inoue has depicted here. For Inoue, is The LAST Manga Exhibition an epilogue, or is that what the rest of Vagabond is now?

Well, now we know what it means for the rest of Vagabond.

Finally, since this might be our last Vagachat for a while, I thought I'd share my convo with Wally about this. I basically covers the rest of my feelings if I haven't made them clear:

Griffith 7:23 pm "Didn't expect to be this popular. Maybe I should run away. From here on... the tale's not so pleasant to tell."Walter 7:24 pm ?Griffith 7:24 pm Matahachi in volume 33. =)Walter 7:24 pm ah, havent bought mine yetGriffith 7:25 pm Well, you have plenty of time to catch up. It's the last volume as things stand. You've followed Inoue longer than I, and there's already precedent with his break after 20, but is this... usual?Griffith 7:26 pm Did he ever burn out on Slam Dunk?Walter 7:27 pm nah it was differnet though it was for Jump, and they have very strict deadlines and since he was young back then, he couldnt just let it slide on his name.Griffith 7:27 pm Plus, the material had to be more lighthearted.Walter 7:27 pm quality suffered at times. the art is very, very simple.Griffith 7:28 pm It's like this is killing him.Walter 7:28 pm it's much more circuitous than Vagabond, as far as pacing and direction.Walter 7:28 pm what's the newest word on Inoue? i know he's expressed frustration or difficulties but... has he said IM DONE?Griffith 7:29 pm Yep.Walter 7:29 pm wha? really? jesus... what a way to end Griffith 7:30 pm http://www.skullknight.net/forum/index.php?topic=10392.msg193391#msg193391 Well, it's more an indefinite break. STOP For now...Walter 7:30 pm very weird is there precedent for something like this? like, other series? ive never heard of something like it.Walter 7:30 pm i wonder what his plans are. like, what's replacing Vagabond, if anything?Griffith 7:31 pm He just says he's not starting again until it's fun again... uhhh. I don't know, the guy has seemed tortured for a while now. I think he might hate his series. =)Walter 7:31 pm hehe he's so close to the end though i mean, you can almost reach out and touch itGriffith 7:32 pm http://www.skullknight.net/forum/index.php?topic=11141.msg179313#msg179313 I also think he's a bit lost. Like, he doesn't know how to end it.Walter 7:32 pm "Even more a conclusion than the actual releases will prove to be?"Griffith 7:32 pm I mean, everything he says about it is conflicted.Walter 7:32 pm CORRECTGriffith 7:33 pm Maybe he feels the same way about the last manga as you. =) "Well, I've seen the end already" And yeah, fitting.Walter 7:33 pm no kidding, I think the Yoshioka 100-man-battle broke him.Griffith 7:34 pm It gave him PTSD.Walter 7:34 pm wasnt that where the release pacing started to drift offGriffith 7:35 pm He's still done 6 volumes since then.Walter 7:35 pm thing is, that volume,w hat is it, 26? is awesomeGriffith 7:35 pm But there's been no... arc since then.Walter 7:35 pm quality wasnt suffering yeah...Griffith 7:35 pm Other than the prison stuff.Walter 7:35 pm there've been great moments to be had, but a lack of direction.Griffith 7:35 pm He's sort of wandering as much as Musashi is.Walter 7:35 pm and thats not a problem, per se.Griffith 7:35 pm Lost in the woods. Yeah, I've enjoyed it.Walter 7:35 pm but apparently it is for Inoue.Griffith 7:36 pm But it suggests he's not any closer to finishing. Like he wants to, but can't without settling./ "They fight, Musashi wins, Good enough."Walter 7:36 pm Artists are a fickle lot. He'll be back within the year =)Griffith 7:36 pm Yeah, I'm not worried. Enjoying the ride. Guy seems so pained though, they're just cartoons Inoue! They didn't really have families. =)Walter 7:37 pm hehehGriffith 7:37 pm "I killed them."Walter 7:37 pm and yeah he's diverged from the "historical approach" so much he shouldn't be overly concerned with that stuff, if it's weighing him down. just stuff id like to tell himGriffith 7:38 pm I think its the opposite problem, he's undecided what HE wants to do with it. Going the historical route or following MUSASHI would be easy.Walter 7:39 pm ah, yeah the bookend for the series has to be substantial i get that i dunno though... i feel he could come up with something i have a great visual in my head of what it'll be like and he can do better than that Just draw Mushi and Kojiro on the beach, not squaring off but dueling with sticks =) the endGriffith 7:42 pm He already has them walking away on the beach together in LAST manga. Also, the way he seems to feel about, like he's done a terrible thing here His writings makes it sound as if he's been chronicling a romanticized version of Hitler's life. =)Walter 7:43 pm he needs to visit Miura. needs a mentoring sessionGriffith 7:44 pm Like Musashi can't be redeemed. Or hasn't been in his eyes.Walter 7:44 pm i got that sense too but, i dont feel that.Griffith 7:44 pm We're on the same page.Walter 7:44 pm and i think it's wrong for him to feel that way.Griffith 7:44 pm YeahGriffith 7:45 pm If he wants to reconcile those feelings though, he could make that the motivation for why Musashi is more or less done after the Kojiro fight. In that case, he should make it starkly horrible. Kojiro's death.Walter 7:45 pm hahahahGriffith 7:47 pm So, I don't know, but I honestly am kind of relieved that the series has been stopped rather than rushed to an end.Walter 7:47 pm its also good to know where it stands. before i kept thinking i was just missing the releases.Griffith 7:48 pm lol I thought you were referencing the new Berserk anime. I almost did. "Nice to KNOW!"Walter 7:48 pm what new anime? =)

Interesting read this. I'm a pretty new fan to the series, and this 'time off' allows me to slow down and take in Vagabond over and over again. I've re-read the current volumes three times now, and each time I go through an arc or a certain conversation, it just hits me right back, like I can't get enough of it. The art is strikingly beautiful too, and I notice some changes in the art style with the last volume or last two (I think! He has more straight lines on faces to show shadows/ expressions than prior volumes, but it's been a while since I re-read the series, will go back teehehehe).

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At the end of time, a moment will come when just one man remains. Then the moment will pass. Man will be gone. There will be nothing to show that we were ever here... but stardust.

There's less than a month left in the year. Time has flown by swiftly. It's been a rather long time since I last saw you.

First, let's talk about Real Vol. 10 which went on sale the other day. It's been a little over 10 years since it started publication in 1999. When I first started drawing it, I had intended for it to be able to be read in full, but I never thought that it would continue for so long. That being said, it's only at its tenth volume...

I've already had a chance to read some of your reactions. Thank you.

I haven't been in very good health the last half of the year and I have gone through various changes so I've been treading somewhat of a tightrope.

Through it all, I somehow managed to get the book out and I feel even more strongly that I am glad I did after reading all your reactions. Thank you.

And thank you for all your positive thoughts about the advertisement in the Yumiuri Shinbun that appeared the some day. Our efforts were reward.

To our readers, everyone who helped with research, everyone on team Real... and also just everybody -- Thank You! I hope that we can also enjoy the next year in a great way.

* * *

One of my goals at the beginning of the year was to wrap up Vagabond this year.

I don't know whether that well happen with less then a month left in the year.

... I may not have expressed that in the best way.

I am very sorry that I have to disappoint everybody who had hoped to see the ending that I had wanted to show everyone this year. I also feel a sense of failure.. a sense of having lost the fight. With not being able to meet a goal that I had set for myself this year.

Well... trying to wrap up Vagabond this year was a "whip" for myself, and also a "hunch". I'll leave the "hunch" for later and talk about the "whip". I had tried to give myself some constraints in order to give myself strengh. It was more effective than I thought. But it wasn't quite the right thing to have.

I got too focused on "finishing". I was looking too far forward into the future. Of course, I did not realize that until now. But now that I've allowed myself some space and have stopped in my tracks, I realize that is what happened. A boxer in the 8th round who is worried about what punch to finish off with in the 12th round is bound to lose before ever getting to the 12th round.

My health suffered this summer and I was not able to continue my publications. Afterwards, I consulted with my editors and we decided to take a break for a while.

I've gone through various examinations, but we haven't found a cause for my condition, and so I stopped the magizine publications and reduced my work load, and have slowly been getting better. Right now it's gotten to the point where the symptoms only come out when I get too focused on something.

This may come across the wrong way, but if I had to say it, I'd say that for me, the amount of physical and mental stress that comes from Vagabond and Real are 10 to 7 respectively. Therefore I felt that since there was only a little bit of work left work for the 10th volume of Real, I could complete it.

Now for the "hunch". I had a "hunch" that something internally was changing in a big way, and so I wanted to bring the work to completion before that happened.

Now that I've stopped in my tracks, I feel that it may not have been a bad thing for the change to happen in the middle of the series. I mean, the work has always changed as it has continued.

I wonder if that seems inconsistent. But that itself shows that it is only temporary. I feel that even if it is your own work, letting things go with the flow, trusting that there is a larger path then your own consciousness will lead to a something better.

I'm in the process of getting that feeling back again. Still in the process.

I've mentioned that I am "stopped in my tracks" several times now. And for Vagabond, it has completely stopped in its tracks.

At the time, I could not suppress the thoughts that if I didn't finish things right then, that it would come back to haunt me later... that I had to do things right then... which really worried me.

But after a while, I came to think that "It's not good to have to do things right now".

"Let's think that it is something I want to do."

"And stop there."

"Who are you trying to impress when you think that you have to do things right now?"

Of course, the readers are the reason for a manga's existencees and there is no question that I have to impress them (and take responsibility for it). That is the right thing to do. However, what is the limit of the unbounded happiness inside the artist?

"Are you focused on what makes you happy?"

I've felt for some years that I have gone past the time where I could do it just for the fun of it. That's a fact. I can't avoid having things shroud the light of enjoyment at my center. I think that I just need to deal with that and things will be fine.

I have a responsibility, but if my manga were to be suddenly erased from the earth, it wouldn't be that big a deal. Since it is something that we can live without, and since it's not a profession I entered because someone asked me to, I think that I need to create my work while feeling happiness from within my center.

As I was cleaning my desk, I discovered documents that were 5 years old that had been left untouched for those 5 years. I started to enjoy the act of wiping down the area under my chair. I wonder how much I had been looking forward without looking at what was at my feet? I had felt this several times before, but this time, the feeling was huge.

I decided to share my current situation and what I'm feeling -- not necessarily with the public -- but more for the Vagabond readers.

I will let you know when we decide when and how things will start again.

Pretty good read. I like how he expressed a sense of relief in the end when he cleared his desk, or the things under his chair. I can relate to that a bit when it comes to my own at work. Filed pile on, and when they reach a stage when I have to get rid of them, it feels good.

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At the end of time, a moment will come when just one man remains. Then the moment will pass. Man will be gone. There will be nothing to show that we were ever here... but stardust.